Canada Post Bill Passes!

[Dash-Ate]

We are debt slaves. Everyone, load up on a $500,000 chipboard house in Calgary, a 40,000 4X4 F250, and a few quads and sleds! 35 year mortgage!

Work until you are 70 to pay for it! Living the dream

[robertsailor1]

Hey I'm in complete agreement "that good quality work gets good pay" BUT a letter carrier does not need an education to do his job and there is little if any apprentice time required. Facts are that Government jobs are on average the best paying jobs out there with over the hill benefits. Over 80% of Government employees have excellent retirement pensions compared to around 20% of the private sector jobs and folks these private sector workers are the ones paying taxes so that the Government workers can reap all these fine benefits. Right now a Government job is at the top of the heap as far as $$$$ and perks and the taxpayers (private sector) are tired of all the moaning and groaning coming from these folks. If your job entails no education and is basically simple labor then don't expect to get paid what an educated professional or trades person would make. Remember if your making $30.00 per hour that's $60,000 per year plus all the perks. There are piles of carpenters,pipe fitters,electricians,mechanics and "pilots" that don't make that much money without any perks and they have all spent many hours and lots of money to get the training and education to get the job and these folks are the guys paying the letter carriers so keep that in mind when you think the Posties are not well looked after.

[DanJ]

Hey I'm in complete agreement "that good quality work gets good pay" BUT a letter carrier does not need an education to do his job and there is little if any apprentice time required. Facts are that Government jobs are on average the best paying jobs out there with over the hill benefits. Over 80% of Government employees have excellent retirement pensions compared to around 20% of the private sector jobs and folks these private sector workers are the ones paying taxes so that the Government workers can reap all these fine benefits. Right now a Government job is at the top of the heap as far as $$$$ and perks and the taxpayers (private sector) are tired of all the moaning and groaning coming from these folks. If your job entails no education and is basically simple labor then don't expect to get paid what an educated professional or trades person would make. Remember if your making $30.00 per hour that's $60,000 per year plus all the perks. There are piles of carpenters,pipe fitters,electricians,mechanics and "pilots" that don't make that much money without any perks and they have all spent many hours and lots of money to get the training and education to get the job and these folks are the guys paying the letter carriers so keep that in mind when you think the Posties are not well looked after.

You do realize of course that Canada Post is a for profit (and generally makes healthy ones at that) crown corporation that isn't (except maybe this year now) supported by tax payers? And people also get paid based on the physical nature of their job, not just whether they have a college diploma. Pilots who work for crap money are only doing it because that's the avenue open to them to get that 6 figure job they covet. That's their choice, and their risk.

[niss]

I'm sure that the conservative mantra of privatization will help small businesses also...

I suppose the question could be asked "What will privatization hurt?"

How is the free market working for Gas, Cell Phones, Insurance, etc?

How did the free market work for Banks in the USA, or Big Auto?

How many people who fall under privatized healthcare in the states have their safety net unfairly yanked out from under them with fine writing caps? Or the dreaded "Pre-existing Condition'?

I know we are far from perfect in this country and don't pretend that we are, but the privatize everything and let the free market decide is definitely not the answer either.

There is no free market. There is only big corporations that organize a monopoly.

[hz2p]

This guy sure knew something about central organization:

[Brewguy]

Stalin was actually quite brilliant.

[robertsailor1]

Free market or no free market a country has to be able to produce wealth if the citizens expect a decent standard of living. Big government or big business it makes no difference. Canada is fortunate because it has lots of natural resources and we have for years relied on them to get us by because Canadians are not very productive compared to many countries and over time it has been showing as our standard of living has dropped. As far as crown corporations being the same as private companies, get real, its government owned just like the CBC and it may or may not run a profit, government is government no matter how you paint it. I doubt any private company would be paying $60,000 a year for delivery jobs.

[crazy_aviator]

Its cheaper to send a box to the border of mexico than to the next province in Canada, and what of the incessantly increasing stamp prices ? Double the cost of mail delivery and give the lazy, selfish, postees $100,000.00/yr.? Where does the fat end ?

[Brewguy]

I don't know about it being cheaper to ship to Mexico than to another province; But at my work, it is cheaper to ship small boxes (within the province) by DHL than by Xpress post. With the courier it arrives the next day, by post it's 3-4 days at almost double the cost.

[North Shore]

^ Interesting, that. My experience is the exact opposite. I just had to send some documents from CYTH to CYYJ. Purolator courier was $30 (two business days) the closest Canada Post option would have been XpressPost @ ~$15..

[crazy_aviator]

Being a public SERVANT ( government employee ) should be a training ground for private enterprise like the military should be a stepping stone for private enterprise. NOT a place where you hang your hat and feed off the taxpayers !!!!
Brewguy, I was meaning shipping to the Border of Mexico but still within the USA
Sorry,

[Brewguy]

Ah, okay. No worries.

North Shore: For business accounts if you regularly ship packages of similar size and weight, in quantity, you can typically negotiate good rates with the courier companies. Not so with Canada Post. I can ship something the size of a cell phone box anywhere in Ontario for around $6. The last time we priced out Xpress post, the same package was closer to $15 with no guaranteed delivery time.

[Shiny Side Up]

Being a public SERVANT ( government employee ) should be a training ground for private enterprise like the military should be a stepping stone for private enterprise. NOT a place where you hang your hat and feed off the taxpayers !!!!

They're not supposed to just feed off the taxpayers, they're supposed to give us good service. If the government behaved like above, it would be any wonder that it didn't screw up more often. People are forgetting that Canada post exists, just like the US postal service, because its an essential service to all of the people. While one can get good deals as a business for shipping stuff - usually with the promise of shipping lots of stuff, or doing it regularly, shipping anything as an individual, Canada post is still generally always your cheapest means of getting something delivered. If time isn't an issue, or you're too poor to afford other services, you can still mail something in this country - and get mail in this country (the other part of the service people are forgetting about).

As per service, Canada Post sits about the middle when it comes to the price/speed range when our business ships stuff. If there's no hurry, I send it by Canada post. If there's a rush, Purolator tends to be the best for that service, though the cost rises significantly. Incidentally, we used to use DHL because of the lower cost and speed, but they ended up with the worst experience in terms of losing parcels, occasionally delivering them to wrong locations and damaging the goods shipped. UPS was only slightly better (better on the handling, though still the occasional parcel to the wrong address. Thank the invisible sky-man for helpful neighbors.)

[North Shore]

Being a public SERVANT ( government employee ) should be a training ground for private enterprise like the military should be a stepping stone for private enterprise. NOT a place where you hang your hat and feed off the taxpayers !!!!
Brewguy, I was meaning shipping to the Border of Mexico but still within the USA
Sorry,

Horseshit, of the finest grade! The government, traditionally, takes on enterprises that are not profitable when undertaken by the private sector. How do you think that the Police or Fire Brigade could ever turn a profit? And, why should they - they're a public service. If they did turn a profit, it would be because of one of two things - either paying the employees less, or charging us more, and pocketing the difference. How do you think that the court system could make money? Give your head a shake.
So, by extension, how are employees of those services going to train themselves to work in the private sector, if no comparable jobs are there?
Also, what you are proposing is a form of taxpayer-subsidised corporate welfare - hire an employee, train them up, and then let them loose, fully trained on the public's nickel on the private sector. Maybe you'd like the government to pay for PPCs too?

Besides that, you seem to be missing the point that Canada Post is a private company - its main shareholder being the Government of Canada. And, it made money last year. (as it has done, IIRC, for the last decade or so..)

[niss]

Ah, okay. No worries.

North Shore: For business accounts if you regularly ship packages of similar size and weight, in quantity, you can typically negotiate good rates with the courier companies. Not so with Canada Post. I can ship something the size of a cell phone box anywhere in Ontario for around $6. The last time we priced out Xpress post, the same package was closer to $15 with no guaranteed delivery time.

Not quite true, CP does offer discounts on quantity. Have a look at the prepaid expresspost deals, depending on the item you can get a discount when you purchase 5 or 10. There is also the ventureone program that offers some discounts.

For $25.49 if it can fit in the 37.8 * 32cm pack it can go anywhere in Canada tracked and insured.
http://www.canadapost.ca/shop/personal/ ... ution=e1s1

For $13.29 if it can fit in the 39 cm x 29.5 cm pack it can go anywhere in the region.
http://www.canadapost.ca/shop/personal/ ... ution=e1s1

Guaranteed in 2-3 days.

[DanJ]

. I doubt any private company would be paying $60,000 a year for delivery jobs.

Really? Have you checked what a driver at Purolator, DHL, Canpar, Fedex and UPS makes? None of them, including Canada Post, quite get to $60k on regular pay, but many do with a bit of overtime here and there. Hoiwever I do beleive the letter carrier hourly wage is at the low end compared to the national courier companies.

[robertsailor1]

Keep in mind that in private companies these delivery folks actually work a full day. There is no such thing as walking your route and going home early.
That aside the real issue is the runaway incomes earned by government employees at all levels. Do your homework, these folks are some of the best paid in the country with perks that no average worker will ever see.

[North Shore]

^ Well, job-shadow your postie for a day - I guarantee that they are doing the full 7.5 or 8 hrs that they are required to do.

And, given the current economic system that we work under, if you think that you are 'underpaid', and government employees are 'overpaid', then feel free to quit your current job and apply to the civil service..

[North Shore]

This thread is hilarious! Pilots complaining that other people's jobs are too easy!

[DanJ]

^ Well, job-shadow your postie for a day - I guarantee that they are doing the full 7.5 or 8 hrs that they are required to do.

And, given the current economic system that we work under, if you think that you are 'underpaid', and government employees are 'overpaid', then feel free to quit your current job and apply to the civil service..

Exactly. It may have been true back before the crown corp days, but since making money became the name of the game there, you don't have 4 hour routes making 8 hours pay anymore. That's not to say that on a day by day basis, some routes are light and you get through it a bit quicker, but generally, they work their hours.

[bandaid]

This thread is hilarious! Pilots complaining that other people's jobs are too easy!

You beat me to it North Shore. Though I don't work in the industry I do know a lot that do and the time they get off is incredible.

[robertsailor1]

Define work, if its "walking" then the Posties are working hard, if its using your "head" then they are on easy street, no pun intended.
Most of the pilots I know started as instructors and put in very long hours and received very little pay. The small percentage of the pilots that make it into the left seat of the airlines certainly do OK but in my mind they bloody well deserved it. (no I'm not employed as a pilot in the airlines)
I can tell you a unionized bus driver makes as much as many flight officers in the airlines and there is a slight difference in the time and training to do those jobs. It used to be that simple jobs paid simple money but as soon as public sector unions were invented those days were over.

[hz2p]

Are you people for real?

Do you honestly think that if a job involves "harder work", it should pay more per hour?

Are you joking?

How much manual labour does, say, Donald Trump do? If you divide his yearly income by 2000 hrs (typical work year) I would be very surprised if he doesn't earn a thousand times more per hour than any manual labourer anywhere in the world. And, I'll bet The Donald's hands are as soft as a baby's bottom.

I can't believe the level of ignorance here. What a job pays is determined by the supply of the worker commodity, and the demand for the worker commodity, for the particular job, distorted by government regulation and union ransoming.

You ignore market forces at your own peril. Ever wonder why there isn't a manufacturing sector in Canada any more?

Canada: The Next Greece

[JakeYYZ]

Rotating strikes made for a 3 day delivery week, which had little effect on small business. Hardly any of us even noticed Canada Post went on strike.
Once the system was shut-down, through a lock-out, which was the game changer. The government had to act.
Here’s a great Plan B and a great way to reduce the size and scope of government without most of the public even noticing: reduce mail delivery to three times per week. We still need some mail delivery, but hardly at the rate of five days per week.

Most here are unaware that Canada Post owns and runs one of Canada’s big parcel delivery companies too. You thought Purolator Couriers was a private outfit competing just like everybody else? Think again. It’s owned by Canada Post. Why? Who knows.

[Beefitarian]

Purolator is pretty good and people don't have to knowingly use Canada Post. So keep it down.